LEMO's Agriculture Day As you rip open the bag of salted almonds for a snack, or wash the leafy greens for your salad, or pour a cold cup of milk; do you think of the work that goes into making these commodities available to you? The 2022 Leadership Modesto class had the pleasure of touring four agricultural companies and farms/ranches in Stanislaus County which gave us a new perspective and reminded us of how fruitful our central valley is.
Let’s talk numbers. The Modesto plant processes approximately 70% of the almonds and then ships to Sacramento for seasoning and packaging or back to the customer. In Modesto alone, they process approximately 1.2 million pounds of almonds per day! There are seven main varieties of almonds that are stored and received at the Modesto plant. The co-op ensures that they use every part of the almonds. For example, the dust is collected and sold to be used as animal feed. They also make oil stock from the almonds that are compromised. The plant does contract to have the almond shells removed and the byproduct is returned to Blue Diamond to process and remove the meats – the byproduct can contain up to 30% of meats. Talking about delivering a quality product, after the almonds are processed and sanitized, a manual sorting process takes place. Employees sort through the almonds and remove any damaged almonds. Quality control is a serious component, and they track everything from moisture levels (which should be at less than 7%) to any insect damage to foreign materials (sticks, rocks, etc.) that may have slipped through – if necessary, the almonds can be reprocessed if they do not meet the quality control levels set by Blue Diamond.
We also saw the almond flour processing site. This started in Modesto five years ago as the need to continue to provide value added products continues to rise. In case you are wondering, the Turlock site processes the almond milk, and the Sacramento site processes butter. The Modesto site also houses a gift shop, but you can always order online. Our next stop was the Ratto Bros, Inc. Ranch where we were welcomed by Anthony Ratto, who is involved in the operations side of the business. The business started in 1905 when Antone Ratto started a vegetable business near Oakland. As the bay area developed, there was a need to move the operation, which eventually settled into 160 acres in the Modesto area in 1962. They focus on planting, growing, harvesting, cooling, and selling their own produce to other shippers or vendors. They currently farm on approximately 1,200 acres that are harvested 2.5 times per year and employ 200 to 300 individuals. Ratto Brothers grows and sells more than 30 different commodities including leafy greens, vegetables, and other specialty products, such as cilantro, cabbage, basil, beets, celery roots, parsley, bok choy, and leeks – just to name a few. In 2004, they opened a new 70,000 square foot packing and cooling house located a few feet away from their fields to cool the produce once harvested and prolong the shelf life. Once the produce is cooled and cleaned, it’s moved to a refrigerated loading area and delivered to market within hours of being harvested. The company grows a range of organic herbs and vegetables, but still has room to grow in this area to meet the demand of its customers. Aside from organic produce, Ratto Bros have committed to using green practices, such as using electric forklifts and installing a 3-acre solar farm! They use drip irrigation systems that are made up of a single use drip tape and recycled after use. They also use reusable plastic containers for harvest, cooling, or pressure washing. Our third stop was to Val Martins Dairy where we learned from owner and second-generation farmer, Danny Martins. Danny and his father run the dairy 24/7 with the support of 25 employees and newly installed robotic systems that allow for flexibility and well-being for their herd. JUNE 2022
EDUCATION
Our day started at the Modesto Blue Diamond plant where we were welcomed by Kimberly Tessier and Leticia Solis. This site sits on 42 acres, and has 350 employees that intake, process, maintain, market, and ship the almonds and value-added product all over the world. Blue Diamond prides itself on the delivery of a quality product and have perfected the craft and care that is implemented in every step of processing. In addition, they highlight their partnership with more than 3,000 growers, all of them are in California and span from Bakersfield to Chico.
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